1. Psychology IS a science!
Chapter 1 – Myers
Chapter 2 - Barron’s

2. Why is intuition and common sense limited in psychology?
Q1 Which Presidential Candidate do you think is best for the American People?
Q2 What percentage of Butler students agree with you?

3. Psychologists found that “opposites attract”
Q. Why is this?
Q.Were you surprised to hear this?
Psychologists found that “absence makes the heart grow fonder”.
Q.Why is this?

4. The Limits of common sense and intuition
False Consensus Effect- The tendency to believe that more people agree with your viewpoint than they really do?
Willy Wonka
Q3. Did you probably under or overestimate your answer to Q2?
Q4. Why would your estimation on a national
level be even farther off?

5. Why is intuition and common sense limited in psychology?
Hindsight bias
“I knew it all along phenomenon”
The tendency to believe, after learning the outcome, that one would have foreseen it.
Ex. Sports reporters talking about who won the game.
Ex. Ask people to explain why opposites attract or why “absence makes the heart grow fonder”
This is why it is important to form a hypothesis and scientifically prove something to be true

6. Scientific Method
What have you learned about the scientific method prior to this class?
Research/Observation
Form Hypothesis
Conduct Experiment
Draw Conclusions

7. Scientific Method
Theories - an explanation using an integrated set of principles that organizes and predicts observations.
Ex. Humidity predicts aggressive behavior
Hypotheses are formed from theories.
Hypothesis – a testable prediction, states the relationship between two variables.
Ex. In July/August people are more likely to commit aggressive acts.

8. The importance of defining the variables.
Psychologist form operational definitions to keep check on their biases and so that others can replicate their observations
Operational definition – a statement of the procedure used to define research variables.
Ex. – Aggression can be defined as number of rapes and murders

9. Why use operational definitions?
Operational Definitions help us achieve the goals of good research.
Good research is both reliable and valid.
Valid – (accuracy) the research measures what it set out to measure
Reliable – (consistency) when a study can be replicated

10. Research Methods Descriptive methods Experimental Methods
Goal is to observe and record
Case studies, surveys, naturalistic observation
Detect naturally occurring relationships, assess how one variable affects another.
Cannot draw conclusions of cause and effect
Experimental Methods
Explore cause and effect

11. Descriptive Methods CASE STUDY
Case Study - Psychologists study one individual in depth in hopes to reveal things true of us all.
Ex. Studying an individual that damaged a certain part of the brain. Compare behaviors and abilities before the accident to those after the accident.
How can case studies be misleading?
An individual may be atypical
Personal experience may be exaggerated
Depends on experimenter's interpretation

12. Case of Phineas Gage
Gage was a worker for a railroad company. On Sept. 13, 1848 an accidental explosion blew an iron rod through his head.
The iron was 3 ft. 7 in. long and weighed over 13 lbs.
The rod entered into his left cheek bone and exited from the top of his head landing about 30 yards behind Gage.

13. Gage (cont.)
Gage regained consciousness within minutes and was able to speak.
Gage suffered massive frontal lobe damage.
Gage’s memory and mental abilities were unchanged but his personality changed dramatically. (Gage was easy going before the accident and became irritable and unpredictable following the accident.)YOUTUBE: STABBED IN THE BRAIN.

14. Descriptive Methods SURVEY
Survey: Obtaining self reported attitudes and behaviors
Surveys look at many cases in less depth
Goal of the survey is to question a random sample.

15. SURVEY Sampling Subjects: participants in the research
Sampling: process by which subjects are selected
Sample: Group of subjects. The goal is for the sample to be representative of the larger population (aka generalizable).
Population: all the cases in a group from which samples may be drawn for a study
Random Sample: a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has a chance of inclusion.

16. SURVEY Random Sampling
The best way to create a random sample is through computer generated lists, a table of random numbers, or picking names from a hat.
Ex. I sit in front of Wal-Mart on a Friday morning and walk up to people at random asking them to participate in a survey. What is wrong with this method? Why is it NOT random? Ex. I randomly pick every third table in the cafeteria to participate? Ex. I survey the 1st 5 people that enter the classroom.

17. SURVEY Sampling
Stratified Sample - allows the researcher to ensure that the sample represents the population.
Ex. A population of 1,000 students. 650 are female and 350 are male. Then in my sample of 100 students I would want 65 females and 35 males. I could divide the subgroups of male and female and then select 65 and then 35 students from those groups at random.

18. SURVEY Forming a Hypothesis
When conducting a survey, it is important for experimenters to still form their hypothesis.
Why?
False consensus effect: the tendency to overestimate the extent to which others share our beliefs and behaviors.
Ex. As a lover of music I tend to think more people love music like I do than they really do

19. The Limitations of Surveys
How are surveys limited in the data they produce?
Depending on self-reports
Activity: Question wording Wording of Surveys must be done correctly for the research to be valid and reliable.
Wording of Surveys must be done correctly for the research to be valid and reliable.
Q. Should cigarette Ads be allowed on TV? - change forbidden, censoring?
27% are in favor of government censorship of media sex, violence
66% are in favor of more restrictions of what is shown on TV.
Aid to the needy v. government handouts.
Death Panels vs. end of life counseling.
Revenue enhancers v. taxes
Prohibiting abortion v. protecting the life of the unborn child.
77% plants/trees, 39% botany
42% rocks and minerals, 60% geology
Q. Public Affairs Act?
Q. Biggest Problem facing America today? 1%-education unless given as a choice
More excitement Tennis or Soccer?

20. Descriptive Methods NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION
Naturalistic Observation - watching, observing, and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation.
Naturalistic Observation describes behavior … it does no explain it.
Ex. Watching animal behavior, observing parent child interaction, recording shopper tendencies as they enter the store, observing the interactions on an elevator

21. Assignment Naturalistic Observation in the cafeteria
Naturalistic Observation describes behavior, it does not explain behavior.
Observe the behavior of others during lunch in the cafeteria.
Come up with their own aspect to observe. (Seat selections by race or food choices by sex are some obvious behaviors to observe).
Record your observations.
Maintain confidentiality.
Explain what you are doing, if asked by teachers or other students.
Report findings the next class period.